Sheet feeding and turning apparatus



Sept. l5, 1959 L, A, CUNDALL ET AL 2,904,334

SHEET FEEDING ANp TURNING APPARATUS Filed Oct. l5, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 W/LL/M H. BLSLL INVENTORS BY W I ,zg i

A'TOR/VEYS Sept. 15, 1959 Filed Oct. l5, 1956 Fig. 2

L. A. CUNDALL ETAL SHEET FEEDING AND TURNING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 LINCOLN A. CUNDALL W/LL/AM H. BLA/SDELL INVENTORS BY QMJW ATTORNEYS n Sept' l5, 1959 L. A. cUNDALL ETAL 2,904,334

SHEET FEEDING AND TURNING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 15, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Ratented sepg ,SHEET'FEEDING AND TURNING APPARATUS Lincoln A. Cundall and William H.. Blaisdell, Rochester,

N.Y., assignors to Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application October `15, 1956, Serial'No.,616,009

3 Claims. (Cl. 271-65) 'Thisinvention relates to sheet feeding apparatus, and particularly to an apparatus'ffor feeding sheets individually kalonga given path to a discharge: point Where they are stacked and including lmeans for-automatically turning over each sheet as it reaches the discharge point in orderto causeY the'natural curl of thesheets to vbe` overcome by the:weight of the sheets ingthe stack.

This invention isan'improvement over the sheet feeding and turning apparatus disclosed in U.S.`Patentl2;649,

303, which issued August l18, 1953.

'In certain enterprises using individual cut sheets 'of 25 paper or other ilexible material, it is Aessential that the -sheets be llat rather than curled. One enterprisein which curled sheets are particularly troublesome is the photographic finishing business .where cut` sheets of-'lm andr'lightsensitivey paper are use'd and mustvgenerally J-belheldflat in afocal vplane for exposure .-andfshould be iat'to facilitate certain :processing :proceduresrtowhi'ch the sheets aresubjected. 'Cutsheets out of :photographic vmaterials 'are rparticularlylsubject to curlingtendencies :because fthey .are coated -on Vone side with light-sensitive coatings which have diferent. stretch .or shrinkage. characteristics than 'the base of the fsheet.

The'above-noted .patent discloses 1an apparatus for -turning-over ialternate fsh'eets 1in .thefpackaging cfa-pho- -tographic materialvso lthatfthe curling tendency of-:adjacent sheets-*will o'ifset` eachother. This patented. structure, Irhowever, 'is somewhat complicated"by^reason tof the fact-that the sheety turningimecha'nism lis-'selective yin voperation and -`thusfre'quires la syn ':hro1'1izing .system between the out# sheets and 'the iturnove'r froll andxstacking mechanism -whi`chfis Vsometimes.diflcultrtofkeep :in

proper `working order, '-particularly vwhen operating-at highspeeds.

l'Ihe'primary 'l object of the presentxinventionlvis vto provide an improved apparatus' for'feeding' individual-'cut rsheets -to^ a stacking point andwhich includes-'means for automaticallyturning over every sheet asf it approaches the stacking position.

Another object is'to 'provide `a sheet *,eerling'apparams of the type described in whichY the 'sheet'turningmec'hanismA is continually operated along-with the sheetf feeding mechanism ,and requires no synchronization between the cut `sheets and turnoverroll stacking mechanism.

And a further'object is toprovideV an improved4 sheet .turnover mechanism whichis relatively simple-"bothnin construction and operation 'so that it can'be constructed .rather inexpensively and `will operate satisfactorily at "high speeds with the minimum -f supervision.

,The novel features that we ,consider characteristic'f .ourg invention .are set forth' with particula'rity inffthe appended claims. 4vThe invention'itselffhowever, bo'thf'as `to its-organization AVand P its methods of .opera'tion, together.wi'th additional objects Aand advantages thereof, will. best .beunderstood t from vthe "following description when, readA in t connection with 'the accompanying rdrawings, in which: I A l wFig. 1 is a side v`elevation of a "sheet'feeding 'andtsta'ck- 15 of .the .sheet turnover rolls and 2 l ings apparatus z constructed vintaccordance with aipreferred embodiment of. thefpresent invention .andthavingiafportion of fthe' sideY supporting fram'estbroken. away-1f so Las to show v:thegparts .of @the ifee'ding.:y apparatus 'arrdftheir -5 :drives rin full lines instead ofdottedlines;

Fig. .Z-is an.-=end sectonalxviewzofther feedingaand stackngrapparatusshown infFig.1.-; and takemsubstantia-lly onlineZ-Z of Fig. 1; 1

Fig. 3 is .an'lenlarged:elevational-view of :one-fof cthe turnover. rolls and showinghowthezrolls lpickslupzthe :leading edge ofasheet advancedtto the `'discharge-lpoint of theapparatus torturni fthe :'sheetzoverand deposit Lit in the stack;

' Fig. 4 .isl anenlargedwerticali sectionaliiviewfoffone iEig. T5 `:is 'a-schematic*viewshowinga Ssheet; in"'fthe yprocess of being turned-over byethe mechanismand showingia previouslytturnedlover sheetfjust falling-into the stack Vofsheets.

"Referring Inow to fthe drawings -whereinra j-pr'eferred embodiment of fthe. presentinvention -is shown, the sheet feeding 1 Aand `v`turning 1 apparatus supported '-by- .a Iframe- `.Work comprising' a lhorizontal'1basei-10 ffrom lwhich: a 4`pair -of vertical iside' frames-11 extend in:y spaced parallel'vrela- -tion to serveiboth-as -supportsfor vfthef-sheet conveying mechanismfand itsdrives as well.. as serving covers lfor this apparatus. -'The sheets "-S of'fleiiible'material, such as'paper,t0` be handled bythis-Yappar-atus-are moved -alongbyla -pluralityf narrowendless `horizontal-con- 0 veyor belts 12 supporte'dzonlrolls *13 fixed to shafts F714 extending between @the'side "frames 1-1. 'One vof the 'shafts '14 is driven/by -a chain "15 engaging a sprocket I6 Yon 'the end of one-of theishaftsliand a -sprocket17 -on the end ofy another ishaftlS-extending between `the lside" frames 5 11 -in iparallel` relation to -tthefshafts 14. `This`latter shaftllS, in turn, is driven through a 'chain orfbe1t'1f9 -and sprockets`f7 and Q8, sprocket 7l beingxedto shaft extending ybetween f the side frames'lll and being continuously driven-by a Vmotor 3M 'through lchainorbe'lt 03'6 engaginga sprocket-84 fixed' to shaftSS, 'see Figs. z1

and 2. Although, as shown, *the-sheet conveyoris made up of- 12 narrow belts, seefFigfZ, itwill beunderstood thata fewer number ofbelts, even-a singlefb'elt, could be used. The-sheetsS come-from any source, VAthe only requirement lbeing 4that they -be'I'nlaced-on-tbelts 1`12 atwise and in spaced relation. Y One representative source of -such sheets mightbe a chopper lwhich yintermittently chops, a continuous-web of paper into 'sheets' f a fgi'ven length anddropshe'she'ets fdirectlyonli-thelbeltsff or v12"by means-,ofupper conveyorLbelts 20--corresponding inl number' tobelts l12 and-carried on^-rolls'121-mounted on shafts l22 extending between the'side trames inparallel relation' toy the' shafts "14. `=The*lower reach 'offthempper conveyobfelts maydirectly contact the upper'reahef ,"the lower vconveyor;beltsto 'be-driven' by frictionalgcontaet der to present a package of fiat sheets, the apparatus is provided `with means for automatically turning every sheet as it is deposited on the stack so that the curling tendencies which the sheets might possess will tend to counteract one another. In this connection, if these sheets are photographic material coated with a light-sensitive emulsion, then the emulsion side of the sheets S is facing upwardly as they move through the belt conveyors and if such sheets were stacked without turning, the normal tendency for such emulsion-coated sheets to curl in the direction of the emulsion side would result in all of the sheets in the stack curling upwardly. By turning each of the sheets over at the time they are placed in stacked relation, the curling tendency of the sheets is opposed by the weight of the stack and the sheets are thus fiattened.

Coming now to the present invention, we have provided a sheet-turning mechanisrnwhich is much simpler in both construction and operation than the sheet-turning mechansm used in above-noted Patent 2,649,303. This sheetturning mechanism comprises a plurality of turnover rolls 30, in this case eleven, which are each fixedly mounted on a shaft 31 extending between the side frames 11 in parallel relation 'with the shaft 18 and located adjacent the dischargepoint of the sheet conveying system. As clearly shown in Fig. 2, these sheet turnover rolls 30 are spaced along the shaft 31 so that one of them is positioned between each adjacent pair of conveyor belts 12. As rnost clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4, each turnover roll 39 comprises a pair of anges 32 connected near their circumference by an annular web 33. A plurality of sheetengaging members 34 in the form of fingers or U-shaped bales, see Fig. 4, are pivotally mounted in circumferentially spaced relationship about the periphery of the turnover roll to move between an operative position wherein they extend transversely of, and in an inclined relation toward, the path of the sheets and an inoperative position where they lie substantially tangentially to the periphery of the roll, see the dotted line position in Fig. 3. The sheets S are fed tangentially into the turnover rolls by the conveyor belts 12 and the rolls are driven at a slower speed than the conveyor belts so that the leading edge of a sheet will be confined by one of the sheetengaging fingers 34 before the sheet starts to turn over. The sheet-engaging members 34 may be formed from wire so as to be very light and rigid and they are normally held in an upright or operative position by small permanent magnets 3S which attract the turned-down arm 36 on each sheet-engaging member and act as a stop therefor as well as serving to hold the sheet-engaging fingers in operative position through magnetic attraction.

The sheet turnover rolls 30 are continually driven in the same direction as the sheets by means of a chain or belt 37 engaging sprockets or pulleys 38 and 39 on shafts 31 and 35, respectively. The diameters of the sprockets or pulleys 38 and 39 are such that the sheet turnover rolls 30 are driven at a slightly slower linear speed than the linear speed of the conveyor belts 12 which feed the sheets to the discharge point. By virtue of this difference in linear speed, the conveyor belts 12 tend to force the leading edge of a sheet S against one of the sheet-engaging members 34 carried by the turnover rolls so that the leading edge of the sheet is positively confined by one of these sheet-engaging members and the leading edge of the sheet is carried around the turnover rolls in wrapped relation therewith, see Figs. 1 and 5. As the leading edge of a sheet is being wrapped around the turnover rolls and thereby directed away from the normal path of the sheets, the Itrailing edge of the engaged sheet is being fed at a faster rate than the leading edge so that the effect is for the trailing edge of the sheet to balloon out, as shown clearly in Figs. land 2, and turn the sheet over as it is laid in the stack 23. As clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 5, those sheet-engaging members behind the one engaged by the leading edge of the sheet are readily pivoted to their inoperative position as the sheet wraps around the turnover roll, since the magnetic force between the arm 36 of each sheet-engaging member 34 and its corresponding magnet 35 is suiicient to merely hold these members in an operative position but not sufficient to oppose pivotal movement of the members to their inoperative position as a sheet is wrapped around the turnover roll. When a turnover roll is provided with as many sheet-engaging fingers as we have shown in Fig. 3, it has been found necessary or desirable from the structural standpoint to mount the magnets 3S for every other sheet-engaging finger on one side of the roll and the remaining magnets for the other fingers on the opposite side of the roll as shown. This necessarily involves reversing the side of the sheet engaging fingers at which the down-turned arm 36 thereof, which is adapted to engage the magnet, is located.

The rotating turnover rolls 30 turn over the leading edge of the sheet until the leading edge hits the knockout fingers 40 fixed to and extending vertically from the pallet 24 and situated intermediate the turnover rolls. When the leading edge of the sheet strikes these knockout lingers, they are disengaged from the sheet-engaging fingers of the turnover rolls and the sheets are free to fall into the stack 23 on the pallet 24 in turned-over relation. After a sheet is knocked out of disengagement with one of the members 34, the other members 34 which were normally moved into and held in their inoperative position by the sheet reset themselves at the knockout stops 40 by reason of the weight of the fingers causing them to fall against the permanent magnets 35 which lock them in operative position.

It will thus be seen that with this sheet turnover mechanism there is no synchronization problem since the turnover roll is continually rotating at all times. It is only necessary that the linear speed of the turnover roll be somewhat less than the linear speed of the sheet conveyor system in order that the leading edge of a sheet will be engaged and confined by one of the sheet-engaging members on the turnover roll so as to direct it away from the path of the sheets and cause the desired turnover of the sheets. Depending upon the number of sheetengaging fingers carried by the turnover roll, the separation between the sheets carried by the conveyor system to the turnover roll may vary from close to wide apart. By virtue of the manner in which the sheet-engaging fingers are mounted on the turnover roll, they are always in their operative position when they move into the path of the sheets being forwarded by the conveyor belts and if the sheet-engaging fingers are of sufficient number to give a slight separation, then there will be a finger present to engage the leading edge of a conveyed sheet regardless of the closeness with which the sheets might be being carried forward by the conveying system. With this arrangement the emulsion side of the sheet is up and since this top surface is never engaged by the fingers of the turnover rolls, the coating is not subjected to abrasion by the turnover mechanism nor is it necessary to slide one sheet on the other during stacking and thereby cause abrasion to the coating on the sheets.

While we have shown and described certain specific embodiments of the invention, We are fully aware that many modifications thereof are possible. Our invention, therefore, is not to be limited to the precise details of construction shown and described, but is intended to cover all modifications coming within the scope of the appended claims.

turning roll mounted at said discharge point on an axis extending transversely to said path and located at a point below said path so that the periphery thereof lies adjacent but below said path; a plurality of sheet-engaging members pivotally mounted on said roll in spaced relation circumferentially thereof to move between an operative position, wherein a portion of each Ithereof extends from the periphery of said roll across and at an angle to the path of sheets reaching said discharge poi-nt to engage and confine the leading edge of a sheet as it reaches said discharge point, and an inoperative position, wherein said portion lies substantially tangent to the periphery of said roll to permit a sheet to be wrapped around the periphery of said roll; means normally holding said sheet-engaging members in their operative position and permitting them to be moved to their inoperative position by a sheet as it wraps around said roll; means for continually rotating said roll in the same direction as, but at a slower linear speed than, said conveying means whereby the leading edge of a sheet as it reaches the discharge point is engaged and confined by one of said sheet-engaging members and carried away from said path while the trailing edge of the sheet is continually fed along said path at a faster rate to cause the sheet to turn over, and means for engaging the leading edge of said sheet fto disengage it from said sheet-engaging member when the leading edge is displaced sufliciently from said path to cause the sheet to be turned over as the result of the continued feeding of the trailing edge along said path.

2. In a sheet feeding and turning mechanism the combination with a means for conveying individual exible sheets separately and in a atwise condition along a given path at a given rate to a discharge point; a sheet turning roll mounted at said discharge point on an axis extending transversely of said path and located at a point below said path so that the periphery thereof lies adjacent but below said path; a plurality of sheet-engaging members pivotally mounted on said roll in spaced relation circum- Iferentially thereof to move between an operative position, wherein a portion of each thereof extends from the periphery of said roll across and at an angle to the path of sheets reaching said discharge point to engage and confine the leading edge of a sheet as it reaches said discharge poi-nt, and an inoperative position, wherein said pontion lies substantially tangent to the periphery of said roll to permit a sheet fto be wrapped around the periphery of said roll; means normally holding said sheet-engaging members in their operative position and permitting them to be moved to their inoperative position by a sheet as it wraps around said roll, and including a magnet carried by the roll, and each sheet-engaging member having a metal arm which constitutes an armature adapted to be attracted by said magnet; means for continually rotating said roll in the same direction as, but at a slower linear speed than, said conveying means whereby the leading edge of a sheet as it reaches the discharge point is engaged and confined by one of said sheet-engaging members and carried away from said path while the trailing edge of the sheet is continually fed along said path at a faster rate to cause the sheet to fturn over; and means for engaging the leading edge of said sheet to disengage it from said sheet-engaging member when the leading edge is displaced suiciently from said path to cause the sheet to be turned over as the result of the continued feeding of the trailing edge along said path.

3. In a sheet feeding and turning mechanism the combination with a means for conveying individual flexible sheets separately and in a iatwise condition along a given path at a given rate to a discharge point; a sheet turning roll mounted at said discharge point on an axis extending transversely of said path and located at a point below said path so that the periphery thereof lies adjacent but below said path; a plurality of sheet-engaging members pivotally mounted on said roll in spaced relation circumferentially thereof to move between an operative position, wherein a portion of each thereof extends from the periphery of said roll across and at an angle to the path of sheets reaching said discharge point to engage and confine the leading edge of a sheet as it reaches said discharge point, and an inoperative position, wherein said portion lies substantially tangent to the periphery of said roll to permit a sheet to be wrapped around the periphery of said roll; said sheet-engaging members being pivoted on said roll so as to be normally moved toward their operative positions by gravity during rotation of the roll; means normally holding said sheet-engaging members in their operative position and permitting them to be moved to their inoperative position by a sheet as it wraps around said roll, and including a plurality of permanent magnets carried by said roll and each sheet-engaging member having a metal arm which constitutes an armature adapted to be attracted by one of said magnets; means for continually rotating said roll in the same direction as, but at a slower linear speed than, said conveying means whereby the leading edge of a sheet as it reaches the discharge point is engaged and conned by one of said sheet-engaging members and carried from said path while the trailing edge of the sheet is continually fed along said path at a faster rate to cause the sheet to turn over; and means for engaging the leading edge of said sheet to disengage it from said sheet-engaging member when the leading edge is displaced suciently from said path to cause the sheet to be turned over as the result of the continued feeding of the trailing edge along said path.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

